Public meetings were held at the Administration Office,1207 1st St West, Independence, IA, starting at 4:00 pm on May 5, 2021. Attending: Sue Henkes, Chief Negotiator, Hannah Burns, Paul Upmeyer, Brandi Davis, Kelci Jahnel, Tia Shaffer, ISEA Rep Shelly Staker, Supt Russ Reiter, Director of Finance, Board President Smith and Vice President Hansen.
FIRST MEETING:
Sue Henkes from the Independence Teacher’s Association (ITA) presented an opening statement. The ITA then presented their initial proposal to the Independence Community School Board for the 2021-2022 school year.
The ITA’s initial proposal stated:
- An interest in developing a compensation system which attracts and retains quality employees and recognized the ever-changing school environment while staying within district budget constraints.
- An interest in developing a compensation system which advances the salaries for the sponsors and coaches for extra and co-curricular activities in order to attract and retain employees.
- An interest in participating in training for Interest Based Problem Solving (IBIS) designed to address mutual needs and concerns while fostering and maintaining respectful communications among the parties.
- An interest in protecting and preserving teaching and planning time within the school day to better serve students.
SECOND MEETING: (held immediately following the first)
Supt. Reiter presented the district’s opening statement.
Board initial proposal to the Independence Teacher’s Association (ITA):
- An interest in the development of a salary compensation model that attracts and retains the finest educators and professionals while staying within today’s budgetary constraints.
- An interest in developing a compensation model that is fair and appropriately compensates sponsors and coaches for extra and co-curricular activities.
- An interest in participating in the “Interest Based Problem Solving” (IBPS) process to address mutual concerns among both parties. We believe that by working together and gaining a shared experience, we can continue to build trust and maintain a respectful working relationship.
- We have an interest in using ESSER funds appropriately and to understand these funds will provide some short-term opportunities but will not be available after July of 2023.
- Professional development needs
- Interventionists
- Class size reduction
Meeting ended at 4:10 pm and the group went into closed session. Full disclosure of all the initial proposal documents may be reviewed at the Administration Office.
Russell Reiter Laura Morine
Superintendent Director of Finance/Board Secretary
